Last night, the Stephan Weiss Apple Awards were held in New York, recognizing Hillary Rodham Clinton and Nadja Swarovski. The event was hosted by Donna Karan, who founded the awards to commemorate the legacy of her late husband, her business partner and an artist, as well as his vision behind the Urban Zen Foundation—celebrating luminaries who are making a difference in the preservation of culture, health care, and education. “Urban Zen was created to be the calm in the chaos. It is a place and a space to create, collaborate, communicate, and create a community for change,” Karan said. “Yes I’m all about the C words,” she joked. “Just a little like cashmere and cotton.”

Indeed, guests arrived dressed to impress as they made their way past the dozens of pillar candles lining the entryway before heading up the stairs for cocktails in the terrace garden. The low-hanging tree branches had been strung with Swarovski crystals as attendees such as Diane von Furstenberg, Huma Abedin, Hugh Jackman, and Christie Brinkley enjoyed passed bites while admiring the view of downtown. Dinner soon got underway in the studio downstairs where low distressed-wood tables were set with white orchids and more Swarovski crystals. Ushering guests to settle into the couch seating for the program to begin, Karan playfully called out several of the boldface names who had yet to take their seats: “Vera [Wang], I see you; Mr. [Calvin] Klein.” Naturally, guests swiftly followed orders.

While guests began to nosh on ricottine with lavender honey and margherita focaccine, a short video highlighting the foundation’s long list of achievements played. “Urban Zen connects the dots of all the things we care about,” Karan said in her speech after. “The past: preservation of culture. The present: health care. And the future: education.” Karan also touched on the strong sense of female empowerment that could be felt in the room. “Women are natural communicators—we have to be,” she said. “You can trust women to pull together and let their voices be heard.”

After a second course of penette crudaiola and pan-seared halibut, Zainab Salbi of Women for Women International introduced Clinton. Heads turned as she made her way to the podium in a sleek ivory pantsuit. “Let me just say from the bottom of my heart how much I love Donna,” Clinton said in her speech. “Donna is a unique individual. Her clothes are unique, her life is unique, she is fearless, she is always thinking about tomorrow, and she’s always been ahead of her time—from her appreciation for strong, empowered women to, yes, the cold-shoulder look, which singlehandedly she is bringing back.” Referencing the now-iconic and then-controversial Donna Karan dress Clinton wore for one of her first major events as First Lady, she added: “You know, I think the dress she designed for me back in ’93 had a lot to do with it. It just takes a while for people to catch up to Donna’s pioneering spirit.”

Clinton rhapsodized about Karan’s international humanitarian work, most notably in Haiti. “She really rolls up her sleeves—or, really, she never has sleeves,” Clinton said correcting herself as Karan looked on, beaming in one of her own signature black sleeveless jumpsuits. “But whatever the equivalent is, she rolls them up and she gets to work to put her beliefs and her passions into action.” Guests, too, got in on the action, thanks to a heated live auction, which featured a trip to Haiti with Karan. Interested parties raised handcrafted fans which made for glamorous bidding. Once the auction came to a close, Swiss musician Bastian Baker serenaded the crowd with “Hallelujah” before guests were sent into the night feeling sufficiently satisfied from the delicious meal—and that much more inspired by the company and the cause itself.